Tashan

If there was any doubt after Dhoom 2 that Yash Raj films was in a steep downward spiral, that has now been removed. Tashan is as low as it can get. IMDb does not allow rating lower than 1 - otherwise I suspect this one would be in the negative column.

The story/plot - the threadbare plot boasts of a couple of twists that are laughable, and in fact it is all ishtyle (if you think tacky is the new ishtyle) and lacks any substance whatsoever. If there ever was supposed to be any connection between the events unfolding on screen (why eggzactly was Bhaiyyaji learning Einglis?), it was unclear and to tell you the truth I did not care! The dialogs were nightmarish - even Bhiayyaji's Hinglish became painful and incoherent as Anil Kapoor valiantly tried to stay in the mode.

The acting - oh well, who cares, it was all about ishtyle anyway. So let us just discuss that. Bhaiyyji (Anil Kapoor) had a certain ishtyle as the villain of old tradishun, Akki was the usual Ishtyle of the tasteless Tradishun (that was actually the only effective ishtyle in this film), Saif had the pathetic Ishtyle of a "cool dude" who sports a droopy mustache (now how many cool dudes can do that?), and Kareena had the size zero figure ishtyle - sadly the size zero removed all the b (as in booty) from her assets - minus boobs and butt she was almost androgynous. Oh, I should mention that none of these Ishtylish folks actually acted.

The music was ONLY thing that was worth mention in this film. Songs are catchy, and the picturization of Dil Dance Maare was interesting. For the rest - the story was unhappily chugging along when BOOM there was an unconnected song and dance routine.

The last 20 minutes took the film to a new nadir, unimaginable depths of dross. I HOPE AND PRAY THAT THIS FILM BOMBS. I have nothing against the studio or the cast (in fact I quite like Saif and Kareena), but if this film works then action movies will never be the same again and I will have to stop watching Hindi cinema that is action oriented. Seems a bit harsh but my mind is still reeling from the fact that hundreds of men with machine guns could not take out 3 people, these hundreds miraculously lost their guns, then there was hand to hand combat of the martial arts kind, there was a flame thrower, and it all culminated in a very big water hose and a jet ski doing a dry run! I thought Hritik's shooting out of the gutter act was bad and now I have been proved so completely wrong.

Trashun is one pathetic piece of trash that needs to be swept out and sent to a landfill immediately. I CANNOT BELIEVE I WROTE THAT!!!

I had the good fortune to view this one again on DVD - I humbly wish to revise my opinion.

We have a film that is truly unique in concept, shows small time people realistically, and even does a pretty good job of showing their ambitions and yearning to be "superior" - just like Jarj Bus! There is the excitement of a heist or sorts, chases galore, a pretend romance, and a real one that started during childhood (Devdas anyone?), a baddie villain, and cop who is sort of villainous, and lots and lots of action. Add to this the fact that we have one of the best roles ever done by a major superstar - yes Akshay Kumar. Kya entry Thi Aur Kya finish! We have a heroine who looks great and is full of guts and gumption - she will avenge the wrongs done to her family and she needs no one to help her do that, and she will put scruples aside just like a man! We have 3 lead men and the most amazingly different item song in Dil Dance Maare. What went wrong? My initial take on the film was that it was complete Bakwaas (watching films online does NOT help). But it was still strangely attractive to me and I broke down and got the DVD. Wah Bhai Wah. Music rocks, Akshay delivers his life's best acting, Kareena looks yummy (except in that size zero bikini), Saif is adequate. Anil Kapoor is one negative - he speaks Bhaiyya speak well early on, but gets totally incoherent as the film proceeds, and I think the audience was not ready for the spoof filled action sequences.

This is one film that deserves a look - for Akshay, for Kareena, for Dil Dance Maare, and Falak Tak (magical moments on screen) and for the streets of Kanpur and Akshay's entry. The best performance by any lead actor this year. You can fast forward Chaliya and Dil Haara but the rest is very very watchable. I hope the makers do not take the film's failure as a huge negative signal - Tashan was ahead of its time and will end up as a cult film of sorts.

The worst movie I have seen since Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya. There is no story, no humor, no nothing! The action sequences seem more like a series of haphazard Akshay Kumar Thumbs-Up advertisements stitched together. Heavily influenced from The Matrix and Kung-Fu Hustle but very poorly executed.

I did not go a lot of expectations, but watching this movie is an exasperating experience which makes you wonder "What were these guys thinking??!!".

The only thing you might remember after watching it is an anorexic Kareena in a bikini.

The reason why I did not give a rating of '1' is that every time I think I have seen the worst, Bollywood proves me wrong.

Let me tell you whether you like or hate Tashan, the fact is that this is a movie unlike you have ever seen in India or anywhere else. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on what you went into the theater expecting.

Also the point of this post is not as much as to review the movie but more to explain what Tashan was supposed to be. After that it's your call to decide if it's a good, average or pathetic movie. This was a movie which I watched for free on very first day of its release courtesy the firm I am having my summer internship with. So in absence of all the reviews that were supposed to come out the very next day, my experience and feelings while watching this were quite unbiased .Since then a lot has been said about the movie. It has been called amongst the 'worst movies ever","idiotic and silly","formulaic" and even been given nicknames like "aditya chopra ki aag".

OK I understand the movie is no classic but it certainly is not as bad as being said. I am a sort of person who hated movies like Dhoom 2 and Dus. The reason being that these pretended be cool and stylish but actually were just plain annoying and dumb ,and the hate is so strong that even this post will be reeking of the same.

Tashan is a movie which actually shouts out loud that look how silly I am. It is very honest in what it wants to be and what it's supposed to be .Take it or leave it. It is not at all meant to be serious, believable or intellectual cinema. It is meant to be a sort of a spoof and homage to the masala potboiler Hindi cinema of 70s and 80s. If you have seen Quentin Tarantino and Roberto Rodriguez directed Grindhouse then you will understand what I am talking about. This is the reason why everything in the movie is deliberately over the top –situations, characters, dialogs, action, dance sequences (e.g. dil dance mare) and everything else. The whole mood of the film can be summed up in one song -Dil dance mare which has been outrageously choreographed and actually in a good way with lyrics which are really very innovative.

The reason why this movie is attracting so much hate is because it tries to mock the same audience and critics who think Dhoom 2, Dus, Krrish, Race etc are good movies. Todays multiplex going audience who think of themselves as 'intellectuals' feel almost insulted of the fact that they have been presented with a movie which has supposedly been phased out of their theaters ( i.e. rickshawallahs type b grade cinema of 80s). These audience can bear a song like 'zara zara touch me' but cringe at 'dil dance mare'. But that is what I like about Tashan- a no holds barred, unpretentious and unapologetic bollywood ishtyle masala fare. It's the same old tale of revenge and love that has been told umpteen numbers of times but jazzed up for the 21st century.

While action sequences in Dhoom 2 kept annoying me and dialogs put me to sleep, the dialogs and conversations in Tashan are actually quite interesting with that completely gone crazy mix of Hindi and English. Tashan is no more or less silly compared to Dhoom 2 and Dus but actually has much better performances. Akshay Kumar is brilliant as Bachhan Pandey and Anil Kapoor is good in first half.

That being said it's not a very good homage and the film falters badly in second half with unnecessary subplots and stretched out action sequences which reach a level of craziness that is almost surreal. Also the storyline fails to hold your interest after a while.

If you are ready to suspend your sense of belief for a couple of hours, sick of current crop of 'multiplex' movies and actually understand that its all meant to be hyper realistic you may will find some redeeming qualities. I will rate it 2.5/5. Not good but still better than other pseudo cool and insult to intelligence movies like Dhoom 2 and Dus. Don't waste your precious bucks in a theater for this, rent a DVD and find out yourself how good or bad this movie is.

After an intriguing opening twenty minutes, 'Tashan' stops making any sense. Saif Ali Khan has a weak role and does little with it. Akshay Kumar rise above the script and remains watchable. Anil Kapoor is disastrously bad. He mumbles his lines and his Hindi-English dialog simply annoys. The makers clearly forget about the script. They seem to have spent all their time on the look of the film. Yes, it IS stylish and the visuals are nice, but the film simply doesn't work. The songs are mediocre but well shot. A few numbers could have been cut. A disappointment.

Overall 3/10

Loose your sensibility at home. 'Tashan' will never make any sense. The main ingredient: 'The Tashan the Ishtyle' is what matters the most, and that's what impresses the most about the movie. The threadbare story line need not be mentioned, it just won't be questioned by its audience. The things that would be questioned would be that whether the characters were stylish and whether the movie had the looks. Well, these questions are already been put to rest by me.

All the four characters were stylish in there own sense, but none were stylish and credible than Akshay's 'Bachchan Pandey'. His is the character that brings the movie to life after the lifeless early exchanges of the other three protagonists Anil's Hinglish 'Bhaiyyaji', Saif's English guru 'Jimmy Cliff' and Kareena's hot and smart 'Pooja Singh'. Akshay's 'Desi' goon character's quirky presence and Kareena's hot looks are the ones that keep the movie from falling flat. Apart from them Saif and Anil do not have any screen presence to hold on to there weekly written characters. The very Ishtyle songs fail to impress other than the title track. Much of the movie is forgettable other than the few post intermission exchanges between Kareena and Akshay. The wacky look and behavior will impress the urban young Indians, but seems doubtful to have any takers in the interiors of India. And finally the exhausting 'kungfu hustle' and 'kill bill' wannabe type climax sequence just creates a new height of self indulgence in Bollywood, something that may only look pale in front of southern super star action movies.

This has been the Yashraj formula for catering its urban audience, a thin storyline filled with stylized action like 'Dhoom'and its sequel. But 'Tashan' has its own wacky Ishtyle which may just cheer you on a certain dull day.